Battling draw at McAlpine

Town 0 - 0 Brentford. Town made Brentford work hard for their draw at the McAlpine and could have taken a lead down to Griffin Park for the second leg if Andy Booth's brace of 'goals' had not been disallowed.

Brentford had showed early glimpses of their attacking game which saw the Terriers destroyed 3-0 at Griffin Park but Lou Macari's men soon regained their compsure.

Early Bees pressure saw Steve Hunt shoot across the face of goal in the first minute.

Hunt's effort was followed in the 4th minute when Paul Evans forced Martyn Margetson into a desperate save after spilling the ball from his rasping shot.

The Terriers lacked a threat down the left wing and John Thorrington had been targetted as a threat by Brentford and was duly well watched.

Town were determined not to subside, however, and they weathered the storm both on and off the pitch (even the wind was against them at a rainswept McAlpine) to gradually take control of the game.

The midfield battle was won by Thomas Heary and Kenny Irons who closed down most of the efforts to get balls whipped into Ben Burgess and Lloyd Owusu, both of whom were well marshalled by the excellent partnership of Jerel Ifil and Kevin Gray in the continuing absence of Nathan Clarke, who failed a late fitness test.

Up front, Andy Booth and Delroy Facey probably felt a little isolated, with Paul Smith and his defenders kept increasingly busy by Town, but Booth still managed to drop a lob onto Smith's bar after 17 minutes as a forewarning of things to come.

Towards the end of the first half, Town were back in control and could have been 1-0 up through Andy Booth but his goal was quickly ruled out for handball after 33 minutes.

Booth had cause for complaint after being ruled offside 10 minutes into the second half when he tucked away his second 'goal' from a cross by Kenny Irons - a decision which drew howls of derision from the McAlpine crowd.

Irons had had a good match in midfield. He provided plenty of telling passes, tracked back, and had a second half shot saved by Paul Smith.

With two 'goals' disallowed, Town had no room to be complacent and there was a sharp reminder with 7 minutes to go when Brentford captured the ball in midfield and swiftly counter-attacked.

Steve Sidwell played a one-two with LLoyd Owusu and then forced Martyn Margetson into a superb one-handed save to keep Town in the tie.

Sidwell's effort would have been an injustice as Town fully deserved to take a lead to Griffin Park for the second leg but couldn't find a goal - Booth's hard work late on saw him hit the side netting with both sides tiring.

Read Mel Booth's match report in the Examiner on Monday. Have your say on the match and the decider at Griffin Park in the messageboard below. Comments with full name and location will be considered for publication in the Examiner.

85 mins: Chances were opening as both sides tired. Irons' corner to the far post was won by Booth but cleared by Brentford. Booth's next header from the next corner hit the side netting! Half of the stadium though he had scored!

84 mins: Sidwell forced a superb one-handed save from Margetson as Brentford countered quickly from poor play by Irons.

83 mins: Holland won another corner off Ijah Anderson. Irons' early corner was wasted - straight at Smith.

82 mins: Holland lofted the ball into the area and Paul Smith allowed it to bounce before punching it out with Hay lurking for a simple nod.

81 mins: A poor Moses header was cleared by Ifil and Thorrington took up the baton to attack.

80 mins: Town re-shaped with Holland in the middle and Hay on the left.

79 mins: Chris Hay was stripped down and ready to come on as the referee booked Thorrington for his persistent fouling. Heary was replaced by Hay.

78 mins: Both sides were getting tired and the McAlpine was still wet as the rain started up again. No mistakes were possible.

7 mins: Thorrington picked up the ball and tried to beat Anderson but trickled out for a goal kick as Brentford immediately targetted him for double marking.

6 mins: Owusu was beaten in the air by Moses who put the ball out for another corner after Holland was caught in possession.

5 mins: Owusu was trying to annoy Margetson at a corner.

4 mins: Thorrington was harshly penalised for a trip on Anderson. Anderson slid the ball to Paul Evans who fired in a shot on goal which was spilled by Margetson for a corner.

3 mins: Ifil was fouled by Owusu and Town won a free kick to relieve the pressure.

1 min: Steve Hunt shot across goal after Town went asleep at a throw-in - Heary allowed Hunt in for a shooting chance on Margetson's goal in the rain.

1 min: Brentford launched their first long ball and immediately went on the offensive.

15:00 - Kick-off

14:55 - The McAlpine crowd cheered loudly as the Town team came out onto the pitch to greet their supporters.

14:50 - Rain was lashing down in Huddersfield.

The clouds were closing in as 3pm approached.

Lou Macari fielded Jerel Ifil in central defence to replace Nathan Clarke, who had not recovered from injury. He also went for a cautious midfield, including Thomas Heary at the expense of Chris Hay who dropped to the bench alongside Chris Beech and Damien Delaney.

The McAlpine was enjoying sunny but cool weather, interrupted by the occasional shower early on.